The Race to Nowhere.

          

Today is a holiday.The day came after a rigorous 5 days' work in the office. Understandably,I didn't want to pass it in a hectic way. So as a matter of my favourite choice I took to sleeping to pass the day in the most unnoticeable way at the cost of what would have come to me by moving outside for a stroll. After all, economics comes into picture even in things which are not related to economics. I remember that Samuelson has said- economics is all about how best to employ one's resources to alternative use to produce a thing of economic worth for present or future.

Unlike many, sleeping happens to be my favourite pastime.The importance of sleeping is best understood when it eludes you and you chase it unsuccessfully to pass a sleepless night. So I respect this cool enterprise of mine. 

Race horrifies me. It leaves me sleeping as a choice.

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But while sleeping, my daughter returned to get me awake with a story of her test she was put to at the class by her Principal. 

She told me her principal stepped in to engage students as the teacher whose class was there wasn't on duty. The principal while talking about many things meant to inspire one and all suddenly circulated amongst students a paper containing questionnaires of sorts. He also exhorted he would consider a student "pass" or "fail" according to how he performed in the said test by way of answering the questionnaire within stipulated time-limit.

My daughter said that at the very beginning of the questionnaire was written an instruction in bold letters that before answering any question one must read the entire questionnaire. 

Despite reading the instructions,my daughter told me that she readily continued answering the questions serially as according to her, the questions were quite easy. But to her surprise; that last question was that-Answer only Question No.1and if you attempt others you will earn zero mark.

Eventually she got zero for above mentioned reasons.

 The questionnaires upon being answered and submitted by the students disclosed that all students of the class; whether meritorious or average,had scored zero!

  My daughter said that the principal was least surprised. Rather he said further that the same test he gave to IAS trainees at LBSNAA Mussoorie when he was invited there as a guest lecturer but had nothing to say out of nervousness to deal with the young,energetic and meritorious creme de la creme of the nation. 

The principal said that in this context he became surprised that time only when he found that no trainee in the class rose above zero mark- the principal revealed.

 Upon this, my daughter said; a student in the class jokingly but wittingly made a repartee- "Sir! It also means that this similarity of scoring zilch opens the possibility of ours making an entry in the LBSNAA."

           God bless the students to realise dreams of their choice; I said to myself without uttering a word. 

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The story that she told of her class prompted me to pore over.

*What led everyone to fail? Was it a dearth of knowledge? No, evidently not.

They failed to understand that the questionnaires were more of a trap than a test. So is our life which is full of trappings composed of easiness of the situations posed as an offer to us which we fall prey to.

Also; the miserable performance of all was due to their indulgence in the rat race to beat the next one sitting beside. This impatience of becoming the first to be called a genius ruined everyone.

**There is another angle. Our mind gets ghettoed the moment we confront the word "pass" or "fail"or "time limit". We lose our natural cool under the pressure of getting through.As a result, we end-up creating a mess of sorts by not heeding to what is important. Quite often in the race of being called a successful we ignore the basic instructions of the game that life is.

*** The third angle which according to me has overtaken the entire world is "speed".Speed has relegated accuracy in the background. Our eyes have been rendered blinkered by the speed. It has left us intoxicated. As a result we often meet with a crash.

      Finally what I learnt as a bonus is that even if you have nothing to say you still have something to say.

There are two types of people. One who has something to say and others who have to say something. I find in myself a combination of the two.

   My interaction with daughter updates me. She usually provides me some lead that often serves as an input to my writings.

R.R Prabhakar.

18.12.2021.